What types of cured meat are ethically sourced? [closed]

I am looking for cured meat, especially ham, which I can buy in Germany and eat with a good conscience. There are two aspects that I am concerned about:

Animal maltreatment: I particularly wish to avoid products from intensive animal husbandry or any maltreatment.
Environmental efficiency: I see this less as a reason to avoid a product, than to moderate one’s consumption of it, in particular to reduce one’s CO₂ emissions.

I enquired about Parma ham in German Wikipedia and was told of secret filming of maltreatment by the Italian animal rights organisation Lega Anti Vivisezione (see also 1, 2, 3, 4). Jamón ibérico sounds better, as they apparently prescribe extensive or free-range animal husbandry, but on German Wikipedia I read that Spanish TV had reported that extensive manipulation lead to 80% of co-called ibérico being factory farmed.

In his comment below J Crosby suggests trying local farmers, which may well be the best course, but I am also interested in what one can buy in supermarkets and/or on holiday and/or if time is short, so general guidelines are welcome.

meat curing

Best Answer

Some people might claim that there is no such thing as ethically sourced meat, because animal husbandry is inherently unethical. But if you are looking for meat from animals which were treated better than usual, then you can look for certified organic products. The EU regulation on organic products mandates standards for animal welfare which go beyond what's requested by national animal protection laws alone. A product is certified organic if:

The product has the protected word "Bio" in the name (as in "Bio Schinken" for "Organic Ham").
The product has either the official German organic label or the official EU organic label on its packaging:

But perhaps the most ethical form of meat you can get is if you buy meat from a hunter ("Wildbret"). Hunted animals lived their whole life in nature. You won't get any more organic than that. But hunted meat is usually hard to find in a supermarket. Most game meat you can buy there is actually factory-farmed. So you might have to either get to know one or buy from a specialized store. Also, game meat is not necessarily as healthy for you as factory farmed meat. Factory farmed animals are fed with controlled food, wild animals ate whatever they found. They might also have parasites, which can infect you if you don't cook the meat properly.